Ponderosa vids for Canadians

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyaqd04jsvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msLRU8idXb4



Also I think this season is fine, weaker than last 3 seasons but still good tv. I think a lot of you guys might just have an overly positive sense of nostalgia, and/or gotten used to HvV and having Russell around.

I have seen every season 2 times and there is no comparison in any other season to how awful this one has been. There has not been a single good moment this whole season.

Cons for Season 21

-terrible players from a strategy and social aspect, among the worst in the shows history

-a far lower than average hot girl ratio

-boring challenges with almost no drama

-TWO quitters

-tons of whining about the weather

-the totally irrelevant age split at the start

Pros for Season 21

-Probst has been pretty awesome

-Brenda was hot

at least we're going into a finale where conceivably 4 out of the 5 people remaining could end up winning.

random predictions in order of greatest chance to win IMO:
1. Holly - most potential jury votes, easy path to final
2. Fabio - needs to win immunity, but will more than likely win if he gets to the FTC
3. Sash - will probably lose if either Holly/Fabio are in the FTC, but is practically guaranteed a spot there
4. Chase - same with Sash, but is a huge dumb-dumb and will more than likely give a terrible jury speech
5. Dan - if everyone is smart he should be guaranteed a spot in the final, but no way he gets more than 1/2 votes.

This season has a lot of great characters and potential all-star contestants (Brenda, Marty, Holly, Fabio, even Alina/Jane at a stretch). Even the pre-merge boots were largely interesting and/or had potential (Shannon, Jimmys, Tyrone, Yve, Jill), which is something you don't often see. Unlike most seasons, the pre-merge this season was interesting: the epic Shannon TC in the second episode, the beginning of Marty vs. Jane and Marty vs. Brenda, and the TC where Kelly B. was booted. The post-merge hasn't involved a straightforward Pagonging, and this has made it a lot more interesting even though it was shortened by the quitters.

It's completely lolworthy to say that this season has been terrible strategically as if this weren't true of almost every season. It's more accurate to say that this season doesn't have one specific person/group dominating strategically, but even that's untrue: Sash is playing the same game as Russell but being more likable in the process, and Holly's transformation from crazy shoe-drowner to adored mother figure and power player is a great story arc. In that respect, this season is like EVERY OTHER SEASON in recent memory with the exception of Micronesia and HvV. Samoa? Russell and Brett/Laura playing the game while the others sucked. China? Todd/Amanda and PG playing the game while the others sucked. Fiji? Earl/Yau playing the game while the others sucked. Gabon? Ken playing the game etc. If this season hadn't come directly after HvV I doubt there'd be nearly as many complaints.

Cliffs:

Before I say anything else, I just want to point out that if you think Dan and Fabio were better served by teaming up with Jane at last night's vote, you're an idiot and possibly incapable of critical thinking.

Forcing a 3-3 tie when the other group has 2 HIIs isn't very likely to succeed. Furthermore, they'd be teaming up with someone who's perceived as a major endgame threat. The major benefit to making such a move is having a 3-2 advantage at F5. That would leave them with only one more shot to vote out Jane. Not to mention the fact that Jane's bitchy afternoon/evening were all based on the fact that she desperately wanted Fabio and Dan to be the next two voted out. Come on. Is aligning with her actually a good idea?

You really don't understand how this show is edited. I'd guess there are at least tens of thousands of hours of footage recorded, which get whittled down to a 12 hour story.

Because of this, the editors can make a good person look like a terrible person. They can make an awful person look great. Every scene can be given a positive or negative tone by the editors.

Jane's edit is a pretty interesting one, and deserves a post all to itself. She's a very polarizing character, and I believe that was the intention of the editors.

LOL. Also, I sure hope you're only referring to HvV Boston Rob.

I deleted your Stephanie stuff, but her Palau edit was definitely over the top positive. It was way less so in Guatemala

There's a thread somewhere on Survivor Sucks. It's called something along the lines of "Blistering is uploading CBS videos that everyone can watch". You're welcome.

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here, but Kelly's edit can only be described as "invisible". I guess some tinges of negative as well, since most of her scenes that made the air were handpicked to make her look like an idiot (Milk your own milk, 20 years of wisdom, nothing left to suck)

I really don't understand why this is so infuriating to you. You realize that Jane voted for Sash, right? Maybe she had told Fabio/Dan she was voting for Sash and would be trying to put the target on Holly at TC to level Sash into giving away his idol. And maybe Fabio or Dan passed that info on.

Of course, maybe none of that happened. But it's ridiculous that you can allow 10 seconds of Tribal Council footage implying that Holly may get some votes at TC to "infuriate" you when Sash (And apparently not Chase) doesn't give away an idol. You're just projecting, from home, what you think is the proper thing for people to do based on the heavily edited material you've been shown. And if the players choose not to do what you believe is best, you think they're total idiots and you allow it to ruin the show for yourself. So dumb, I just don't understand it.



I've been a staunch defender of this season. But last night's episode definitely did bother me. All of that clawing and prying Probst did at TC, and there was still very little compelling footage from what could have been a great TC. Everyone left is trying to play it cool and keeping things close to the vest.

While that may be a good way to play Survivor, it certainly doesn't make for great TV. And I thought last night's episode was very disappointing on that front.

It's not that simple though. Rupert got like 85% of the vote when he won. I don't know the exact numbers on Russell either time, but I would guess close to 20-25% in HvV. No reason to analyze Samoa since no one else was on TV the whole season.

Someone needs to rewatch Tocantins. He was scum of the earth that season. SAYING you are all about honor and integrity is irrel when you don't back it up with actions.

Thanks for the canuck links.

source

Is this accurate? Anyone know what happens to immunities? Is there a difference between the ii and hiis?

I'm honestly not sure why people watch Survivor at all if you consider this a bad season. Sure the pre-merge wasn't great, but it never is.

I think this season was fantastic. Way higher than normal number of thinking players, lots of drama, lots of hilarity, lots of different characters from different walks of life. Good moves, bad moves, unpredictability.

I mean seriously, not every season can be HvV, but this season was pretty solid as a follow up to that.

OMG, Ponderosa does not disappoint this week

season simply sucks because theres not one likeable person on it or anyone i want to win. fabio i guess, but hes got no shot unless something crazy happens.

Fabio, Holly, Brenda, Chase, Alina, Tyrone, Jimmy Johnson, Eve were all likable and played pretty well, in general.

I would be happy with anyone left winning besides Dan. Dude can't even give a voting confessional!

chase?
notsureifserious.jpg
hes easily one of the worst players ive ever seen. he has only made it this far by DUMB luck. emphasis on dumb.

if holly doesnt win this itll be a ****ing travesty. and theres not a thing likeable about her outside of the fact that shes at least played well.

After today I'm thinking if Dan somehow ends up in a FTC with Chase/Sash he might actually win. This is so crazy.

Saw this somewhere else. This is what supposedly happened at tribal council last night, and explains Jane's vote for Sash.

I said for the most part. Jimmy Johnson and Chase didn't play stellar games, but you are being way too hard on Chase. He made some bad plays he made some plays based on emotion, but overall he's done the right things to get him where he is.

how is everyone always surprised when their family shows up after the messages? Have they ever watch the shows?

Editing and/or extreme emotion masquerading as surprise?

i suppose

I'm a clown, if a loved one was ever on this show and i went to visit them, id run towards them then make a b-line to Probst like "ommmmggggg it's Jeff Probst!!!!" someone should do that

They are probably trying to not assume because it would be too devastating to most of them not to see their loved ones. I think Jones is right, just extreme emotion that looks like surprise.

this should maybe be put in spoilers -- even though it doesn't tell (or hint at) who the final 3 are going to be, it does give a sort of off-camera hint as to which way the jury might lean, which some people might want to avoid. i dunno, i might just be being nitty.



also, ive apparently enjoyed this season a lot more than most of you guys! i'm a survivor noob, so i have nothing to compare it to except for HvV, which i watched in its entirety during the course of this season after you guys wouldnt stop talking about it. and while i will say that that was a bit more interesting (was just a season full of interesting characters (although i will say i hated the **** out of rupert in HvV and can't imagine how he won fan favorite in another season)), i am definitely still enjoying this season. def rooting for fabio or holly at this point. fabio just seems like a likable guy, and holly seems like the "best player" left. really hope chase goes before final 3, hes the worst dude.

I like it fine, but I have pretty liberal standards and have a tendency to make the best of what I get. Also, we get this terrible play by many of the contestants on EVERY year and it seems like we complain about 'all the idiots' fairly regularly. I can't get on board with those who say there is no one to root for, because I am solidly in favor of both Holly and Fabio, and wouldn't be too disappointed from a game play standpoint if Sash won. {shrug} I may be too easy to please. Probably better ask someone else.

By "fairly regularly", I assume you mean "After every single episode, every season"

then we'd never have the amazing colby-older brother moment from HvV. CMON REID!!!

Fabio and Dan are clearly #4 and #5 on the totem pole. Chase openly said so at TC. And even though Jane wanted to get rid of Dan, the more recent events had her furious at her alliance members, so why wouldn't they try to team up with Jane at least for last night? Fabio has now put himself in a position where he has to win 2 more ICs back to back if he wants to get to the finals, he has essentially become the Brett of this season. Unless he chooses to actually try to actively play this game, which he has shown no signs of doing.

re: the editing, I just don't know what to say anymore, boc. You're telling me that I'm a fool for making assumptions based on the footage that they chose to show me. But what choice do I have? What type of assumption am I allowed to make so that you don't come back at me with the same ridiculous argument you've been spewing all season? Maybe Chase is actually a strategic genius and chess grand master and this whole simple country boy persona is an act, maybe Holly actually has a F3 alliance with Dan and Fabio and they just haven't shown it, maybe NaOnka is actually Russell in drag and blackface, etc etc etc etc etc.

Please tell me, what am I and others allowed and not allowed to deduce based upon what they choose to show us? According to you, nothing, so what is the point of any discussion at all?

I'll say it again, in post show interviews over the years, it has been an overwhelmingly common occurrence compared to the contrary that when asked if the contestants felt that they received a fair and accurate edit, they say they have. This is especially interesting considering that they have essentially been given an opportunity on a silver platter to paint themselves in a better light by being asked that question. Please answer my question above. It's not rhetorical. What types of things are assumption worthy and what are not?